In just 3 years, Haider Ali has built
Finest Bazaar into a £2.5 million business selling smartphone accessories around the world. Speaking to the entrepreneur, the reasons for his success quickly become clear. The first is a powerful drive to succeed. For Finest Bazaar’s first year, Haider held down a full-time job, ran his growing eBay business and studied for a plumbing qualification (as a back-up plan). When being away from his business started to cost him money, Haider gave up the job to focus on Finest Bazaar, slowly filling his house with stock. “I moved my office from the small bedroom to the big bedroom and I filled the garage with stock,” he explains. “But, within 2 or 3 months I had filled the hall, the kitchen and the living room as well. I was sleeping under stock. Visitors would come to the door and I couldn’t let them in because there was just no room.”
The second reason for Finest Bazaar’s success in the crowded world of phone accessories is Haider’s focus on service. “I want us to be the best at whatever we do,” he says. “We offer free delivery, the best warranty, the best prices and fastest delivery.” When his growing inventory forced him out of his house, Haider chose a warehouse unit close to the local Royal Mail depot. “We’re a stone’s throw from the depot, whereas a lot of big businesses are miles away. They have a daily collection about 2pm and any orders after that go the next day. We can despatch up to 5 o’clock and I’m looking to extend that to 6.00 or 6.30.”
As soon as he could justify the cost, Haider flew to China. “The business was about 6 or 7 months old and, between Finest Bazaar and my job, I’d saved up about £10,000. I thought a lot of our competitors in the UK may not be going there. So, for us to get a head start and to get the best prices directly from the source, I had to meet suppliers face to face.” Haider knew that to offer good quality products at the best price, he needed to order greater quantities of stock.
“The more stock we have, the more we’ll sell. And, if we want to make more money, we have to hold more stock. Once you have your business framework right, it’s just about getting the capital: money makes money,” he explains.
But, Haider didn’t have enough capital to place larger orders or to command better discounts. That’s when Haider turned to
PayPal Working Capital. He used the service to take an initial cash advance of £30,000. “With £30,000 of additional stock, our turnover started to grow faster. The advance was repaid in 45 days,” he says. “And, as soon as it was paid off, I applied again, because what that money did for us at that time was absolutely amazing."
The firm has since used PayPal Working Capital 6 times. “It’s worked a treat for us,” Haider says. “I always knew I was onto a winner, but PayPal Working Capital has made it achievable far more quickly. Without it, we wouldn’t be where we are today. PayPal Working Capital has helped accelerate our success.”
You can read more about how PayPal Working Capital has accelerated success for Finest Bazaar,
here.